In Athens, the leaders are discussing, but action is required
EUROKINISSI / GIANNIS PANAGOPOULOS
In the shadow of a difficult summer with many catastrophic fires and floods in several Mediterranean countries, the leaders of EUMED 9 are meeting today in Athens with climate change being one of the central issues that will concern them. The big question is whether there will be action and the extent to which the greenhouse gas reduction targets as set at the Paris Summit will be surprised.
The agenda of the Summit includes the security challenges in the Mediterranean, which endanger the stability in the region, as well as the possibility of new migration waves after the latest developments in Afghanistan.
The work of the Summit was scheduled to begin at 15:30, with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von Layen, in attendance. The Summit of 9 leaders is scheduled to start at 17:00, at 19:40 statements will be made to the media and at 20:30 they will attend a dinner.
Specifically, the meeting is attended by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, French President Emanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Petro Sanchez, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenkovic, Prime Minister Janvos, Ambela Shanze Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva. This year, Croatia and Slovenia were added to the other MED7 summit.
Today’s meeting is also taking place in the shadow of the surprise agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on the Indo-Pacific region.
On the sidelines of the EUMED 9 meeting, several bilateral contacts have taken place. From the Greek side, Mr. Mitsotakis had meetings with the Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Draghi, and earlier with his Croatian counterpart Andrei Plenkovic.
During the meeting of the Prime Minister with his Italian counterpart, the challenges in the Mediterranean were discussed, as well as issues of environment and climate change. The two leaders reportedly reaffirmed the excellent level of bilateral plans and discussed prospects for deepening co-operation at both bilateral and regional levels, with an emphasis on economic co-operation.
Challenges in the Mediterranean were also discussed, including migration, as well as the course of the pandemic and vaccinations.
Prohibitions
Due to the arrival of high-ranking politicians a number of prohibitions and traffic regulations, who test the patience of drivers and users of public transport in the capital from an early age.
By order of EL.AS. at 17:00 the metro stations “University” and “Syntagma” will be closed, while demonstrations are prohibited and the Acropolis will remain closed to the public on Sunday.